Oregonians are proud of their state's wealth of beautiful forests and streams, and place great importance on proper use of their environment, yet struggle to balance this need with the desire to achieve progress. The state has pioneered many of the nation's environmental firsts, such as one of the first bottle bills, but has also suffered under the rapid pace of logging its forests.

The Oregon Trail infused the region with new settlers, starting in 1842-43, as the United States sought to wrest control of the area from Great Britain. This controversy was resolved in 1846 after a period of sabre rattling where it seemed that the United States and the United Kingdom would go to war a third time in 75 years. Cooler heads prevailed, however, and the United States-Canada boundary was set at the 49th parallel[?].

In the 1880s, railroads enabled marketing of the state's lumber and wheat, and the more rapid growth of its cities.

Industrial expansion began in earnest following the construction of the Bonneville Dam[?] in 1943 on the Columbia River. The power, food, and lumber provided by Oregon have helped fuel the development of the west, and the periodic fluctuations in the nation's building industry has severely impacted the state's economy on multiple occasions.

The state has a long history of polarizing conflicts: Native Americans vs. English fur trappers, English vs. settlers from the U.S., ranchers vs. farmers, wealthy growing cities vs. established but poor rural areas, loggers vs. environmentalists, white supremicists vs. anti-racists, and native-Oregonians vs. Californians (or outsiders in general). The state ballots frequently experience the extremes of the political spectrum - anti-gay, pro-religious measures on the same ballot as liberal drug decriminalization[?] measures.

Oregon's Governor serves a four-year term. The legislature consists of a thirty member Senate and sixty member House. Senators serve four year terms, and Representatives two. At the national level, Oregon is represented by two senators and five representatives. It has seven electoral votes.

The Willamette Valley is very fertile, and coupled with Oregon's famous rains, gives the state a wealth of agricultural products. Apples and other fruits, cattle, dairy products, potatoes, and peppermint are all valuable products. Oregon is also one of four major world hazelnut[?] growing regions. Her forests have historically made Oregon one of the nation's major lumbering states, but overharvesting and law suits over the proper management of the extensive federal forest holdings have reduced the amount of timber produced since the later 1980s. In recent years, processing, publishing, and manufacturing have become much more dominant.

High technology industries and services have been a major employer since the 1970s, first with Tektronix[?] being the largest private employer in Oregon until the late 1980s, then with Intel's creation and expansion of several plants in eastern Washington County; however, with the recession of 2001, many high technology employers have either reduced the number of their employees or gone out of business.

Oregon has had one of the largest salmon-fishing industries in the world, although ocean fisheries have reduced the river fisheries in recent years. Tourism is also strong in the state; Oregon's evergreen mountain forests, waterfalls, pristine lakes (including Crater Lake National Park), and scenic beaches draw visitors year round.

As of the 2000 census, the population of Oregon is 3,421,399. Its population grew 20.4% (579,062) from its 1990 levels. According to the 2000 census,
86.6% (2,961,623) identified themselves as White,
8% (275,314) as Hispanic or Latino,
1.6% (55,662) as black,
3% (101,350) as Asian,
1.3% (45,211) as American Indian or Alaska Native,
0.2% (7,976) as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
4.2% (144,832) as other, and
3.1% (104,745) identified themselves as belonging to two or more races.

6.5% of its population were reported as under 5, 24.7% under 18, and 12.8% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 50.4% of the population.